State Rep. Aaron PeĂ±a will retire at the end of this term rather than seek re-election under interim political maps for the Texas House of Representatives that stripped him of a district offering the best opportunity for a Republican candidate to win office in Hidalgo County.

PeĂ±a, R-Edinburg, said he will not seek a sixth term in office in a court-drawn district he deemed unwinnable for any Republican candidate, nor will he move to a conservative-friendly district to vie for votes from the constituents of state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen.

Instead, PeĂ±aâs campaign to become the first Hidalgo County Republican elected to the state Legislature since Reconstruction has ended prematurely with the release of a statement saying he âaccomplished as much as we set out to do when I ran for this office in 2002.â